


Recovery

by drakyrna



Series: Dawning of a New Era [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Violence, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 16:41:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9193865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drakyrna/pseuds/drakyrna
Summary: Sequel to Spoils of War. While Crocodile recovers, Doflamingo get's an unexpected visitor. AU.





	

Distorted shouting coming from beyond the door of his room woke Doflamingo from a light doze. The blonde lifted his head from the back of the small sofa in the captain's cabin(it was technically a full-size couch, but most things seemed small to a man of his stature). Groggy, he spared a glance across the low table to the large bed on the opposite side to check on its occupant. Cleaned and bandaged, Crocodile remained unmoving, still recovering from the wounds he'd received from the recent war.

Doflamingo stretched as he stood, mildly disappointed that his 'guest' still hadn't gained consciousness since the shichibukai found him amongst the debris of Marineford two days ago. He moved closer, pressing a hand to the un-bandaged side of the other's face and brushing a thumb along a scarred cheek. The skin was pale and still a little clammy and while his knowledge of first aid was extremely limited the blonde had seen death enough to recognize the symptoms of blood loss. Crocodile wasn't on death's door yet, but he would have the ship's doctor do a more thorough check later. 

The shouting on deck continued and Doflamingo felt a small stir of irritation. What was the point of having subordinates to watch for a ruckus on deck when they were themselves the cause of one? Withdrawing his hand, he turned and marched across the cabin to the door, yanking it open with a growl.

"What the HELL are you morons doing out--" Doflamingo stopped short as one of his subordinates fell to the deck with an agonized cry, sprays of blood trailing in an arc after him. 

"Lo-lord Doflamingo!" one of them shouted in desperation as another of their number was cut down, "There's an intruder on board!"

Doflamingo looked past the group of men to the tall figure twisting about in a circle amongst them, arms and legs striking out with coordinated ease as more bodies fell to the deck.

"So it would seem," he confirmed, grinning tightly as he considered the ease with which this intruder was going through his men. First Belamy, now this? Honestly, it was starting to get embarrassing. Well that just wouldn't do. Not at all.

The shichibukai chuckled darkly then, head cocking to one side as his grin turned predatory.

"Would you like me to solve your little problem, boys?" the blonde offered, one hand raised in a familiar gesture.

The men shouted in relief, backing carefully away from the intruder, swords still held defensively in front of them as they cleared a path for their captain. None saw the sinister twist to Doflamingo's face as he waved his hand in an arc before him, fingers twitching out a rhythm in the air. A second later, the group came to a jarring halt, confused as they were frozen in place by an invisible force. He gave them some credit, though: they did their math quickly.

"S-s-sir! Wha--Why?!"

"Lord Doflamingo!"

"Please, Lord Doflamingo!"

"Let us go!"

"P-please, sir, please!"

"Shut up," he hissed with a frown, irritated even further by their collective cowardice. Useless trash. He continued as their plaintive cries ceased.

"The New Era is here. It's the time for pirates--true pirates--to take the treasures of the sea and leave things like 'One Piece' to fools like Blackbeard and their fantasies. The tide has turned and swept clean the weak, leaving the strong to reshape this world!"

The smile that had grown with each word spoken fell again as his attention returned to the shuddering underlings caught in his power's grip.

"I hand picked each and every one of you to serve me in this new age. Only the strong and like-minded were welcome to stand beneath me. And yet you MORONS have the audacity to fail me on my own SHIP!" he growled, taking a moment to calm before raising his hand before him.

"Your weak. And I don't need weak underlings."

The men cried out in fear, begging and pleading with fervor, knowing well what their fate was to be as Doflamingo's fingers twitched a final time. Swords thrust into flesh in a unified symphony of carnage and gore, each man impaling himself on his blade in a cry of agony before the shouts slowly quieted into silence. The bodies hung in the air like broken puppets, limp and pale before Doflamingo released them with a flick of his wrist, dropping them to the deck with a sneer.

The intruder was all that remained standing amongst the fallen bodies, body tense and eyes riveted. His prison garb caught the shichibukai's notice as did the rather archaic tattoo emblazoned on his broad chest.

"Oh? What is an Impel Down escapee doing on my ship, hm?" Doflamingo wondered, smiling curiously, irritation forgotten.

"I've come for my boss," the man answered tersely.

"Boss?"

"Crocodile. Where is he?" the other clarified, bending one arm at the elbow and extending the hand, palm up, in a readied stance. The man was clearly some sort of martial arts master. Doflamingo smirked, amused. The guy had guts.

"Fufufufu! Crocodile is my guest right now. My doctor has been tending to him; he's in there," he answered with a gesture to the open door, though he didn't move to allow the other entrance, "And now that I've answered your question, what do you intend to do now?"

The man looked considering, before asking, "And after he recovers? Will he still be your guest?"

Doflamingo shrugged, "That depends on him, really. He's welcome to stay for as long as he wishes, but the sand man has never been much for socializing. Sad, really. I do so like 'socializing'."

The former prisoner seemed wary of his salacious grin. Not a fool, then. However, he stood down.

"I will wait until he recovers then," he stated and moved to a clean spot on the deck, sitting cross-legged with his hands set in his lap, the finger-tips pressed together. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and proceeded to ignore his surroundings.

"Fufufu, well aren't we presumptuous."

The eyes opened again, a brow raised in question. Doflamingo moved closer, laughing further as he pushed his sunglasses up a bit further.

"I never said you could stay," the shichibukai clarified, head cocking to the side as his smile inched a bit wider, "And there is the matter of intruding on my ship."

"I asked your men for news of Crocodile. They were...unhelpful. I had no choice but to board," the man defended, tense.

"You attacked them, yes?"

"After they attacked me."

"As well they should; you were an intruder. You seem to be having trouble with that concept," Doflamingo insisted with a laugh, "And you're still intruding. I can't allow for any more embarrassments I'm afraid."

The shichibukai raised a hand and the man was back on his feet in a defensive stance. Doflamingo laughed at his determination--though gave him credit for having the guts to try in the face of hopeless odds. His fingers twitched a familiar rhythm in the air, and the other braced himself with a grimace.

Both were equally surprised when nothing happened. The blonde stared at his target in confusion before glancing at his hand, giving his fingers another flick. When still nothing appeared to happen, Doflamingo frowned, puzzling over his hand. The former prisoner relaxed hesitantly, uncertain if it was yet safe to do so.

No answer forth-coming, Doflamingo cocked his head at this stranger. He'd never met anyone would could resist his ability (not in person, anyway). This new puzzle was intriguing. Perhaps there was more to this loyal dog of Crocodile's than he first thought. And perhaps there was more to Crocodile's choice in lap dogs then just fighting ability...

The blonde burst into hysterical laughter at that. Crocodile really was a scrupulous bastard! It was almost terrifying how prepared the croc could be, really. Very well, he would reward his little gator for his forethought.

"Your name?" he asked with a smirk.

"Mister One," the other answered after a brief hesitation.

Doflamingo cackled again, amused by the obvious alias. Fine, let him play whatever game he wanted, it didn't matter.

"Welcome aboard, Mister One, fufufufufu!" he announced, gesturing grandly to the air as he laughed gleefully.

\-------------------------

He shut the door behind him, still chuckling in amusement as he slid out of his feathery coat and tossed it carelessly onto the sofa. His new guest left him with an intriguing puzzle, to be sure, but for now he would use him as free muscle. He'd left the other to clean off the corpse-laden deck, receiving only a raised brow in answer to the 'request'. A quiet one, that Mister One.

Doflamingo moved easily to the bed to stare down at his other guest, grinning. He bent over the still form, bracing himself on an elbow, his other hand brushing the side of Crocodile's face as he leaned in close, chuckling as he whispered, "Such a loyal dog you have, my dear croc. Fufufu, I'm jealous!"

Then he closed the small gap, lips pressing surely against the other's affectionately. He was pleasantly surprised when the mouth beneath his opened and began to nibble on his bottom lip. So his little croc was awake at last...and being appreciatively grateful at that! The blonde moaned in appreciation as his lip was sucked further into the other's mouth, teeth gently kneading the sensitive skin.

Doflamingo jerked in reflexive pain when Crocodile bit down hard. Eyes burning with anger stared up at him and he hissed as the bed-ridden man bit down just a bit harder before releasing his bloodied lip with a growl.

He dabbed tenderly at his lip, muttering, "Apparently kisses work just as well on savage beasts as they do sleeping beauties..."

"I told you never to do that."

"Oh come now, Croc-O-Doodle-Doo. It woke you up, didn't it? And it was such a nice kiss, you spoil sport," Doflamingo pouted, flicking Crocodile on the forehead with his fingers.

The former shichibukai's glare darkened and his hand batted away the fingers, though with considerable effort. Gator-boy wasn't as well as he wanted to think. All the better, as far as Doflamingo was concerned; less of a struggle this way.

"Why am I on your ship?" Crocodile asked, bringing him out of his lecherous thoughts.

"Fufu, because I found your busted ass buried in a pile of rubble. Not so invincible after all, hm?" Doflamingo chided, tapping the sand user's bandaged chest pointedly.

The other continued to glare, but there wasn't much fire in it this time. The man looked rather sullen, actually.

"No need to get upset about it. Yours wasn't the only butt Akainu kicked after all."

"...what happened to...?" Crocodile murmured, unable (or unwilling) to finish the thought. Doflamingo smirked, amused.

"Oh, your little friends managed to get away. They whisked the Straw Hat boy off somewhere in some sort of underwater craft and there's been no sign of the Impel Down escapees. Well, besides you and that dog of yours."

Crocodile raised an eyebrow, confused, before blinking in realization.

"Ah. Mister One."

"Adorable pet name you have there, Boss," he laughed, only getting louder as the other's face tinged red. Whether it was with anger or embarrassment, he didn't know, and really it didn't matter. Either way, it was an amusing shade.

"Shut up, idiot. Get off me, your heavy," Crocodile growled, shoving weakly.

"Fine, fine. I'll let the invalid rest then, yes?" Crocodile turned even redder (pretty sure it was anger this time) as he moved off the bed with a flourish, "We'll talk later, though. Oh, yes, we will talk later."

The former shichibukai huffed, irritated, but gave a muttered, "...fine."

Doflamingo smiled and bent over to kiss the other's forehead, dodging as a hook sliced weakly at him before wandering back to the door, laughing. Crocodile really was so much fun to terrorize. He made it so easy!

"Sweet dreams, my little sand man~!" he sing-songed as the door shut behind him. He marched off to find the doctor, humming pleasantly to himself. Now he just had to find out how long Gator-boy would be at his mercy and he'd be looking at a picture perfect day!

**Author's Note:**

> So I feel I should explain the interaction with Doflamingo and Mister One. First off, I got the idea from some fanart and the the theories floating around about Doflamingo's powers being based on string (which was unconfirmed back when I wrote this piece). The idea that Mister One's body is made up of blades (and would therefore be too sharp for string to get a hold of) meant he might be naturally resistant to Doflamingo's power (sort of like Luffy vs Ener). Now I'm making tons of assumptions with all of this, but it works for the fic and I'm okay with that. Re-posting this from the DoflaCroc community on LJ.


End file.
